UN Unanimously Approves Resolution to Fight Terrorism

The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution on Wednesday to confront the growing threat of foreign terrorist fighters. “In the nearly 70 years of the United Nations, this is only the sixth time that the Security Council has met at a level like this,” said Obama in New York. “We convene such sessions to address the most urgent threats to peace and security … What brings us together today … is the unprecedented flow of fighters in recent years to and from conflict zones, including Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa, Yemen, Libya, and most recently, Syria and Iraq.” Citing intelligence estimates, Obama said there are “more than 15,000 foreign fighters from more than 80 nations” who have “traveled to Syria in recent years.” Many of those fighters have joined terrorist organizations and could potentially return to their homelands to carry out attacks, he said. “The historic resolution that we just adopted enshrines our commitment to meet this challenge,” said Obama. The resolution requires nations to “‘prevent and suppress the recruiting, organizing, transporting or equipping’ of foreign terrorist fighters, as well as the financing of their travel or activities,” said Obama. “Nations [also] must ‘prevent the movement of terrorists or terrorist groups’ through their territory, and ensure that their domestic laws allow for the prosecution of those who attempt to do so.”